Search for the Best Ramen

The best ramen I ever had was in Hokkaido, and ever since then, I have been searching high and low for good ramen in Singapore. And I am pleased to declare that I have managed to relish two excellent ramen restaurants.

The first restaurant happens to share the same name of a 1985 Japanese comedy that revolves around the art of making ramen, Tampopo’s Black Pig Shabu Ramen, was even voted as ST Lifestyle’s No. 1 in its Top 10 Ramen in Singapore.

This simply delightful ramen is served with tasty and tender Black Pig Shabu Slice (which is also known as Berkshire Pork, or Kurobuta Pork in Japan, and is prized for its fine marbling of fat and exceptional flavor), in spicy Kyushu (pork bone) soup base that is said to be brewed over 2 days.

As my family and I were in a restaurant specializing in Berkshire Pork, we couldn’t resist ordering a Black Pig Tonkatsu to share.

Once again, one bite and it was apparent that it wasn’t your average piece of meat. The pork chop was meltingly tender and juicy, without any hint of dryness due to the layer of fats.

I can boldly declare that it is the best Tonkatsu I have ever tasted and making all $19.50 simply worth it. However, it’s a pity that the stewed egg wasn’t as firm as the one I had in Hokkaido.

Rating

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4.5/5
Price: 3.5/5
Total: 16.5/20
#B1-50 Liang Court Shopping Centre

The next ramen place, voted 2^nd just behind Tampopo, is Noodle House Ken.

Found in the heart of Orchard, this ramen place happens to offer a very unique, Cold Ramen in Sesame Sauce. However, I felt that the taste was too authentic for me and being a sucker for hot food, the coldness in the noodles wasn’t very appealing to me.

I also found the ramen too dry due to the lacked of soup, but however, the Miso Ramen was pretty delightful. The noodles were tangy and the sweet corn along with the bamboo shoots was a great compliment to it.

The stewed egg was a pretty good proxy to the one I had in Hokkaido, but the egg yolk wasn’t as watery as I would like it to be.

Although I hadn't had a chance to sample the Chasu Ramen, I believed it would be a great choice for future visits, as the 2 Japanese sitting next to our table were slurping loudly away. Also another good feature about Ken Noodle House is that it operates till 2a.m. on Monday till Saturday, so hungry shoppers and clubbers can enjoy delicious ramen in town.

Rating

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Price: 4.5/5
Total: 15.5/20
Orchard Plaza #01-17/18
(Opp Cuppage Plaza)